Train Sim World 3 North Wales Coastal: Crewe-holyhead

Hello all, TrainGeek08 back again with another suggestion, this time it's the North Wales Coastal from Crewe to Holyhead as it has great scenery and this is a great candidate for a route in TSW

Following some rather helpful feedback in fact from AirbourneAlex and trainsimplayer, I'm gonna add some more things to this one to hopefully attract more of you to read this one and the first of those is just below...

Route Map:



Stock included in base route:


The British Rail Class 221 'Super Voyager' DMU in Avanti West Coast livery



And the British Rail Class 175 'Coradia 1000' DMU in Transport for Wales livery

Training (In Training Center):
Class 175 Introduction
Class 221 Introduction

Scenarios:
Voyaging in Wales: (Difficulty - 2)
Drive this Avanti Voyager between Bangor and Crewe on a peak time service bound for London

Chester Shuttle: (Difficulty - 4)
Drive this TfW 175 from Chester to Crewe and back in a torrential snow storm so visibility will be worsened so be careful

Cut Short: (Difficulty - 1)
The Britannia Bridge is closed meaning Anglesey is separated from the mainland, so drive this TfW 175 from Holyhead to Llanfair PG where replacement buses are waiting to take passengers to Bangor on the mainland

Llandudno Voyage: (Difficulty - 2)
Avanti West Coast have introduced a new service between Llandudno and London Euston, and you are driving the first northbound service from Chester up to Llandudno, be sure to give lots of tones as people will be out to see this new service, especially at Llandudno

Depot Day: (Difficulty - 1)
Sandbox scenario where you drive 175s around the depot or into/out of Chester station

Timetable:
Here's a link to a downloadable pdf of the Network Rail Working Timetable from May 2019 on the North Wales Coastal so you can see what the service pattern is like along the line

(The North Wales Coast Line is section CF01 if you are interested)

2019-05 WTT CF | Network Rail Corporate Archive


Potential DLC, Layers, Stations and new addition Points of Interests are coming up on Pages 2 & 3...

 

Page 2:

Potential DLC:


The British Rail Class 197 'Civity' DMU in Transport for Wales livery

Training (In Training Center):
Class 197 Introduction

Scenarios:
Llandudno Shuttle: (Difficulty - 1)
Drive the last shuttle between Llandudno and Llandudno Junction before this Civity heads back to Chester Depot for the night

Holyhead CAF: (Difficulty - 3)
Drive this TfW 197 from Holyhead to Chester but the Avanti service in front of you has a technical fault so is running at a slower speed so watch those signals and hope they don't catch you out

Civity Startup: (Difficulty - 2)
Start this CAF Civity up at Chester Depot and drive to Llandudno Junction as this unit is required for Conwy Valley Line services to/from Blaenau Ffestiniog

Timetable:
Incorporated into the timetable in game with the 221 and 175 already included


Layers:


The British Rail Class 66 'Shed' in EWS livery for aggregates services to/from Penmaenmawr or Llandudno to Crewe



The LMS Jubilee from West Cornwall Steam Railtour for a railtour which leaves Holyhead in the morning and returns in the evening (this will include empty coaching stock moves from Crewe as well)


Stations & Points of Interest on Page 3...

 

Page 3:

Key stations on the route:

Crewe:


Crewe railway station is a railway station in Crewe, Cheshire, England. It opened in 1837 and is one of the most historically significant railway stations in the world. Crewe station is a major junction on the West Coast Main Line and serves as a rail gateway for North West England. It is 158 miles north of London Euston and 243 miles south of Glasgow Central. It is located at the point where the lines to Manchester Piccadilly and North Wales diverge from this route, and is the last major station before the branch to Liverpool Lime Street diverges. It is also served by lines to Stoke-on-Trent and Shrewsbury. Crewe railway station has twelve platforms and a modern passenger entrance containing a bookshop and ticket office. Passengers access the platforms via a footbridge, stairs and lifts. The platform buildings dating from the 19th century contain two bookshops, bars, buffets and waiting rooms. The last major expenditure on the station took place between 1984-1985 when the track layout was remodelled and station facilities updated.

Chester:


Chester railway station is located in Newtown, Chester, England. Services are operated by Avanti West Coast, Merseyrail, Northern and Transport for Wales. From 1875 to 1969 the station was known as Chester General to distinguish it from Chester Northgate. The station's Italianate frontage was designed by the architect Francis Thompson. Work on a £10 million regeneration scheme, the Chester Renaissance programme was completed in 2007. The development includes a new roof, improved customer facilities and improved access to the station. A plaque commemorating Thomas Brassey is installed on the wall opposite the booking office. The station marks one end of the Baker Way a footpath leading to Delamere railway station. Scheduled services from Chester station are operated by Avanti West Coast to London Euston and Holyhead, Merseyrail to Liverpool, Northern to Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds and Transport for Wales to Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Airport, Crewe, Birmingham New Street, Cardiff Central, Llandudno and Holyhead.

Shotton:


Shotton railway station serves the towns of Shotton and Connah's Quay, Flintshire, Wales. It is situated where the Borderlands Line crosses the North Wales Coast Line. All passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales, which manages the station. Shotton is split into two sections: Shotton High Level is above street level and serves the Borderlands Line; Shotton Low Level serves the North Wales Coast Line. Each level has two side platforms and both are double tracked. The tracks of the high and low levels cross each other at right angles. There is a ticket office on the high level Bidston-bound platform. The station is staffed on weekdays and Saturday mornings only.

Llandudno Junction:


Llandudno Junction railway station (Welsh: Cyffordd Llandudno) is a station serving the village of Llandudno Junction on the Crewe to Holyhead North Wales Coast Line. The station is managed by Transport for Wales Rail, although Avanti West Coast also serves it. It is a junction for trains to Llandudno and the Conwy Valley Line, and is one of the busiest stations in North Wales, surpassed only in passenger numbers by Bangor.

Llandudno:


Llandudno railway station serves the seaside town of Llandudno in North Wales, and is the terminus of a 3 miles (4.8 km) long branch line from Llandudno Junction on the Crewe to Holyhead North Wales Coast Line. The station is managed by Transport for Wales Rail, who operate all trains serving it. Llandudno Victoria station, the lower terminus of the Great Orme Tramway, is a 15-minute walk from the main station.

Bangor:


Bangor railway station is a railway station in Bangor, Gwynedd, operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The station, which is 24+3⁄4 miles (40 km) east of Holyhead, is the last mainland station on the North Wales Coast line between Crewe and Holyhead. It is the busiest in terms of passenger numbers in North Wales, as it serves the community around Caernarfon and further west, it is close to the Snowdonia National Park and Bangor University, and has an interchange with bus services to the various towns and villages of northern/western Gwynedd and Anglesey.

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Llanfair PG):


Llanfairpwll railway station is a station on the North Wales Coast Line from Crewe to Holyhead, serving the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Anglesey.The station is known for its longer name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, but this is a Victorian contrivance for the benefit of tourists with no basis in historical usage. It comprises the full name of the village, plus local topographical details, plus the name of a neighbouring church etc. The actual longest railway station name in Wales (indeed the UK) is Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station.


Holyhead:


Holyhead railway station (Welsh: Gorsaf reilffordd Caergybi) serves the Welsh town of Holyhead (Welsh: Caergybi) on Holy Island, Anglesey. The station is the western terminus of the North Wales Coast Line 105+1⁄2 miles (170 km) west of Crewe and is managed by Transport for Wales Rail. It connects with the Port of Holyhead ferry terminal. The station is connected to the town centre by a stainless steel pedestrian/cycle bridge named The Celtic Gateway (Welsh: Porth Celtaidd).


The next new addition... Points of Interest:

Crewe Heritage Centre:


Crewe Heritage Centre is a railway museum located in Crewe, England. Managed by the Crewe Heritage Trust, the museum is located between the railway station and the town centre; the site was the location of the 'Old Works' which was demolished in the early 1980s.

Conwy Castle:


Conwy Castle (Welsh: Castell Conwy; Welsh pronunciation: [kastɛɬ 'kɔnwɨ̞]) is a fortification in Conwy, located in North Wales. It was built by Edward I, during his conquest of Wales, between 1283 and 1287. Constructed as part of a wider project to create the walled town of Conwy, the combined defences cost around £15,000, a massive sum for the period. Over the next few centuries, the castle played an important part in several wars. It withstood the siege of Madog ap Llywelyn in the winter of 1294–95, acted as a temporary haven for Richard II in 1399 and was held for several months by forces loyal to Owain Glyndŵr in 1401.


Britannia Bridge:


Britannia Bridge (Welsh: Pont Britannia) is a bridge in Wales that crosses the Menai Strait between the Isle of Anglesey and city of Bangor. It was originally designed and built by the noted railway engineer Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans for carrying rail traffic. Its importance was to form a critical link of the Chester and Holyhead Railway's route, enabling trains to directly travel between London and the port of Holyhead, thus facilitating a sea link to Dublin, Ireland.


I hope you enjoyed this one, keep giving me feedback on what to improve on for next time as it is very helpful to me to make my suggestions better and become a reality in game, put your thoughts below on this one, I've been TrainGeek08 as always, and I'll see you next time for another suggestion or CC mod release announcement, until then it's goodbye from me

 

Excellent idea and you also have the option of making it 1958 that way it can merge with Spirit of Steam WCML Liverpool Lime Street to Crewe. That way we have LMS Jubilee and 8F run the boat trains to Holyhead the Irish Mail route. Class 197 can be modified for BCC Class 196

 

That is a good idea if DTG wanted to go down the steam route again with Crewe but we need a modern day Crewe so this route would be a great option for that

Yes the 197 could provide for a 196 to get made for BCC or any other West Midlands route like Shrewsbury-Birmingham New Street or Birmingham New Street-Hereford/Great Malvern for example

 

yessir, a wonderful route for tsw. I've been to the north wales coast myself and is beautiful. I would welcome the north wales coastal to tsw3 definitely.

 

6D41 0528 Crewe Coal Sidings (Drs) to Valley Nuclear Electric

 

Cheers, this is a good route that isn't in TSW yet, it needs represented, regardless of era but this is suggested in the modern day but if DTG wanted to do it in BR era, then I wouldn't mind that at all

 

Yes, I saw that diagram and it's return working when I looked on RTT, maybe a 66 with nuclear flask wagons either as DLC or it comes with the route with another loco e.g. a 68

 

Thanks, TrainGeek08 for the wonderful suggestion, I was wondering if you could give me some ideas on a London commuter remake article

 

This is not a picture of Britannia bridge. This is Menai Bridge, a road bridge.

 

Oh, I see that now you mentioned it, I'll change it

 

I think you could suggest something like a South London Network similar to the route that's on TSC as it will be similar to London Commuter

 

Amazing suggestion! This would be really awesome to have! All new stock can be introduce into this, and can be layered on other stuff too!

 

Cheers, yeah the 221 and 175 could layer onto later routes if they aren't made prior to this or if any part of the WCML (221) or the Welsh Marches Line (175) comes first, then it would become layered content onto the route

 

With the amount of people who have suggested this (include yours truly), I annoying that neither DTG nor their 3rd party devs have made this for TSW. Same goes to the ECML & WCML

 

Yep, it's another of those routes that large quantities of the TSW community suggest and it doesn't get represented but this route needs represented in game as it would do well with those that like the TSC version or like the route/trains included

 

Great suggestion mate but for me it would have to be don't BR blue in the early 80s: so much more interesting.

 

That's fine mate, BR diesel era would also be cool as it offers more variety in locomotives especially with the NTP and TVL layers

 

We certainly need a Welsh route in TSW at some point, and the North Wales Coast Line would be a great candidate. There's also the potential for the Class 158 in TfW livery (although it would need to be reworked with Perkins engine) and possibly the Class 150/2.

Good, informative and interesting suggestion

 

Yes, a Perkins 158 and a reworked 150/2 would be great to add as layers which would be nice to boost variety on the route

Thanks, happy to have impressed you following those improvements you suggested

 

I’m sure this route will be made at some point in the future. It is quite likely that it will be set in the recent past or the present day as well, although any era would be good.

 

Great suggestion be good to have a Welsh route in the game hopefully one comes

 

Cheers, yes I totally agree on that, I'm sure a Welsh route will come in time regardless of era but this is a great candidate for that to occur

 

Good suggestion but late 1990s please with Class 31, 37 and 47 passenger hauled trains. There was more rolling stock variety in that era

 

Thanks, a lot of people have suggested that already and it's an option if DTG didn't want to do it modern day but it's a nice idea

I tend to mix between doing suggestions set in the modern era and the BR era to get the best of both worlds really

 

yeah.. I feel like they are teasing us at this point.
I mean, has anyone asked for Glossop Line? I was expecting to see Crewe/Chester - Holyhead being produced by Skyhook as they are based in Liverpool which is stone's throw away from the actual route but they did the MML instead

 

Yeah, I guarantee it has but not as much as your ECML or WCML

This would be a great route for Skyhook to be doing following their fantastic effort with MML and should consider making more UK routes in the future

 

This sounds great. Present day or BR Blue.
I’m from south wales but used to travel to north wales frequently and the views are stunning. Would be great to have a Welsh route. Great post buddy.

 

Cheers mate, the views must be good along there and glad to hear some positive feedback from a Welsh member too

 

Set this in the late 90's early 2000's with the 37's still on the brum-holyheads, and the merge of the 158's then ill be all over this !

 

It would be nice to have a Diesel Legends style DLC to make all the BR diesel era playerbase happy

 

Yes great suggestion the North Wales coast is top of my list atm for the next route to be added .Not sure why DTG havn 't done anything in Wales yet ? we have 2 Scottish routes SO hopefully something soon

 

Yeah, if Scotland has two routes already, why hasn't Wales had a route yet but this is probably the best candidate for that to happen

 

I think they are put off by the bilingual signage that would be required by the Welsh Assembly lol

 

Oh OK, well they have the Gaelic below the English (which is realistic) on the Scottish routes so I don't understand what the problem is with Welsh, surely it would be the same principle, right?

 

Sorry, that’s just my bad attempt at a joke, oops

 

That's alright

You could be correct in all of this that maybe the Welsh Assembly have said that to DTG so it is not all bad, it might not be that, it might even be licensing agreements with TfW

 

Yes thats what I was thinking could be a problem with TFW

 

Okay Thanks

 

They could work around it by setting it before TfW ran services in Wales.

 

No problem

 

That's a good idea but I don't know which era as I remember suggesting a route in ATW era and someone saying DTG doesn't have the ATW or Arriva as a whole license anymore (hence no CrossCountry branded trains)

 

In that case BR blue would probably be viable but I would prefer modern-iahbtines (ie last 10-15 years or so)

 

Well it's either modern day (if TfW give DTG their license) or BR Blue which doesn't require another license as they already have one (hence NTP, TVL & WCL)

 

They don't need to
TfW is a brand of the Welsh Government, and they don't have any reason NOT to offer the branding and may well be obliged to under their charter. I heard a few years back (and had it confirmed in an email from TfW) that they were talking to DTG pre-pandemic. Obviously we haven't seen any TfW branding in game so don't know how far that went.

With regards to Arriva, when they lost the welsh franchise they did go a bit crazy and rescinded all licensing so DTG had to remove their welsh assets from sale on TSC and reissue as unbranded, so I can't see Arriva relicensing now. Then again that company is currently up for sale (the UK arm is owned by DB) so who knows what the future holds there.

Back before that you'd have regional railways which is a BR brand, so DfT or NRM hold those licenses. Then BR Blue before that

 

Thanks for clearing that up, so it narrows down to either TfW in the modern day or the Regional Railways/BR Blue eras

 

Well I suppose there's no option but to have it set in BR blue then!

 

Aye

 

I've only taken this as far as Llandudno, but it was a nice day out.

Though for Welsh lines, I'd really love to see the south wales valleys, Cardiff - Merthyr Tydfil. Might make a reasonable lower price route, or go the whole hog and have a full price route with multiple branches, Clinchfield style.